Basketball

University of Colorado Men's Basketball

CU basketball: Buffs have no plans to plateau

Boyle focused on confidence, leadership, fundamentals

By Brian Howell

BuffZone.com Writer

Posted:
04/16/2014 03:30:41 PM MDT

Just making it to the NCAA Tournament, like the Buffs did this year, isn't enough for Tad Boyle. The Buffs coach wants his team to keep improving and advancing in the future. (Cliff Grassmick / Daily Camera)

Through the first four years of the Tad Boyle era, there's not much the Colorado men's basketball program can complain about.

The Buffs have won at least 21 games in each of Boyle's four seasons, 92 overall. The three winningest seasons in program history have occurred under Boyle's watch. CU has been to the conference tournament semifinals three times, winning the Pac-12 Tournament in 2012.

As Boyle and the Buffs (23-12 this past season) look to the future, though, the success they've had is no longer viewed as the peak of CU basketball. It's a foundation.

"That's relatively consistent," Boyle said of the win totals the last four years. "We need to maintain that. I just want to make sure we don't take a step backward."

The goal, of course, is to take steps forward, and Boyle has said that the next step is advancing past the round of 64 — where CU's season has come to a halt the last two years — in the NCAA Tournament.

Getting there will require the Buffs to make improvements in a host of areas. Even Boyle said he has to get better.

"In my self-reflection after the season, which I do a lot of, I have to be more consistent in practice, I have to be tougher in practice," he said. "(Doing that means) holding everybody to the standards that we believe in. I have to do a better job of that."

Every team Boyle has had at CU has taught him something. Last season's team was no different.

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Boyle saw a team that rode a roller coaster of emotions, as its belief in itself wavered from week to week. When the Buffs were all-in on their belief, they were impressive to watch. When they weren't, it was painfully evident.

Maintaining that starts with Boyle's main principles of playing tough defense and attacking the glass for rebounds.

"We have to get our players to completely buy into the defense and rebounding philosophy," he said. "They semi-bought in (this past year). The great teams have bought into it. Ours ... they understand the importance of it and they'll talk it, but in terms of believing it, that's one of the things this team taught me is the power of belief — in a good sense and also in a sense that you don't really believe."

Although it wavered, Boyle said the team's general belief in itself after star guard Spencer Dinwiddie suffered a season-ending injury was one of the contributing factors to the Buffs getting back to the NCAA Tournament.

"The belief that they showed in themselves, the belief that they showed in each other after Spencer's injury was admirable and I'm very proud of them for that," Boyle said.

"What this team went through, the benefits will show next season. I really believe that."

Getting his team to solidify its belief in itself will be among Boyle's main challenges this offseason. But, that should, in turn, lead to the Buffs making improvement in another key area: leadership.

Once Dinwiddie got hurt, the Buffs had inconsistent leadership. At times, junior Askia Booker and sophomores Xavier Johnson and Josh Scott stepped up as leaders, but not always.

Aside from firm belief and strong leadership, the Buffs need fundamental improvements, too. They'll work this summer on trying to get more consistent on defense and Boyle acknowledges that he has to do a better job on offense. Too often, the Buffs struggled to score last season, and that cost them in a few games.

"Our offense needs to become more efficient, more consistent," Boyle said.

In addition to the team improvement, players will work this offseason to get better as individuals.

Four years in, Boyle is pleased with what the Buffs have done to this point. He won't be pleased, however, if the Buffs level out.

"One of the mantras of this program is we want to get better every day," he said.

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